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Problems That Need Addressing in Swat and Snipers.

The Director

By The Director
in Halo Reach

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The Director 343 Guilty Spark

The Director

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It's come to my attention that there are a couple of playlists that used to have far more players than they do now. Those playlists are Team Swat and Team Snipers.

 

The main reason for this is because playing on the same maps over and over again gets old pretty quickly. The lack of maps in both playlists is annoying to say the least. Another reason is that the credit jackpots and challenges are geared toward the larger playlists (which is pretty ironic given that Swat is a pretty large playlist).

 

The following is all in my own opinion.

 

Updates that should happen for Swat:

1. New maps. There are quite a few maps in Team Slayer and BTB (ikr) that would be great for Swat. While adding new maps to Swat, it should be remembered that in Swat symmetry is a good thing. You can learn a lot from maps that players have forged as to what would be good in Swat and what wouldn't be (most maps designed with Swat in mind are perfectly symmetrical). It wouldn't even be hard to add Team Slayer or BTB maps to Swat. There is no need to edit them because if Slayer works, then so does Swat. Adding maps is the critical update that is needed.

2. A possible ZB option. Most Swat veterans are of the opinion that Swat would be even more amazing with Zero Bloom. It shouldn't be permanently switched to ZB, mind you, but the option to play Swat on ZB should be there. It would make Swat a little more difficult, but Swat isn't exactly considered an "easy" playlist like Slayer, BTB, or Objective. Another argument that supports this is that Swat is supposed to be based off of a players aim rather than how fast they can spam a trigger.

3. A Super Jackpot. As far as I know, Swat has never had a Super Jackpot before. Which seems rather unfair considering that nearly every other playlist has. Even Infection. A SJ would bring more players into the playlist, which would give veteran players new people to play with. It will also encourage other players to at least try it out a bit to see if they like it.

 

 

Updates that should happen for Snipers:

1. New maps. DEFINITELY new maps. There are nearly a dozen maps that should be in Snipers that aren't due to either oversight or laziness. ALL BTB maps work with Team Snipers, ALL slayer maps work with Snipers, and all MLG maps work with Snipers. The only excuse for the lack of maps in Snipers is "We haven't gotten around to it yet." If more maps came into Snipers, the size of the playlist would probably double by the end of the week.

2. More Daily and Weekly Challenges. There are no daily or weekly challenges that I know of that are especially attuned to Snipers. There are some for Swat (magnum kills can happen in other playlists of course, but it's obvious that Swat Magnums is the quickest way to get the challenge) so why not for Snipers?

3. Raised Game Time. There are a lot of Snipers games that aren't completed due to lack of time in game, especially on larger maps like Hemorrhage. Another couple of minutes should see these games through to completion.

4. Super Jackpot. It will do the same thing for Swat as it will for Snipers. More people playing = more fun.

5. Either update or remove Hemorrhage. The spawns are Red heavy (means it gives red a little advantage over blue. Yeah, you know it does don't lie.) Spawns at half-map or in the bases (rather than around the base in plain view) will go a long way in making it more entertaining to play on Hemorrhage.

 

 

That's all I can think of for now. If you have any more, feel free to post them. :D

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Pengers Jackal

Pengers

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The map voting in most playlists has led to a situation where people only ever want to play the maps they like. Team Slayer is dominated by Swordbase, Snipers by Hemorrhage and Swat by Asylum and Reflection. Obviously map voting is democratic and not many people would want to change it, but i think i would prefer it if they had a fixed map rotation akin to the one in Gears.

 

A quick note on bloom - i don't know if it's just me but sometimes you can get really unlucky with bloom, hit someone 7 or 8 times in the head and it not register, this kinda thing gets frustrating, but overall i like bloom.

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The Director 343 Guilty Spark

The Director

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I dont play a lot of snipers, but I do like your changes to swat, having the option for ZB swat would be pretty fun. Nice post sir.

Thank you. :D

 

Also, an update to Swat included one map. I haven't had a chance to play on this map yet, but hope to soon. However, this doesn't solve the problem of too few maps on Swat. Taking two maps and adding one is akin to taking one step forward and two steps back.

 

While it is the opinion of many that it's a good thing that they took out those two maps, and we certainly don't want them to rush getting maps into Swat, we need more than one new Swat map.

 

There have still been no updates to snipers, which isn't a good thing by any means.

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MyNeighborSatan Drone

MyNeighborSatan

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.

2. A possible ZB option. Most Swat veterans are of the opinion that Swat would be even more amazing with Zero Bloom. It shouldn't be permanently switched to ZB, mind you, but the option to play Swat on ZB should be there. It would make Swat a little more difficult, but Swat isn't exactly considered an "easy" playlist like Slayer, BTB, or Objective. Another argument that supports this is that Swat is supposed to be based off of a players aim rather than how fast they can spam a trigger.

 

I play SWAT pretty much exclusively, and I don't understand the logic behind this last bit here. I've played ZB SWAT in customs, and it's a LOT easier. ZB makes it much easier to get kills by simply spamming the trigger rather than timing your shots. The timing of DMR shots is usually the biggest deciding factor in who wins in SWAT aside from who sees who first (though in that case, it doesn't really matter if there's bloom or not as long as the guy who shoots first knows where to aim). ZB works in other game types, but I think it needs to stay out of SWAT for the simple fact that, like you said, it should be about who's the better shot; ZB seems counter-intuitive to that end as it removes the need to pace your shots. I know from experience that ZB SWAT on Zealot and Asylum is absolutely horrible.

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The Director 343 Guilty Spark

The Director

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I play SWAT pretty much exclusively, and I don't understand the logic behind this last bit here. I've played ZB SWAT in customs, and it's a LOT easier. ZB makes it much easier to get kills by simply spamming the trigger rather than timing your shots. The timing of DMR shots is usually the biggest deciding factor in who wins in SWAT aside from who sees who first (though in that case, it doesn't really matter if there's bloom or not as long as the guy who shoots first knows where to aim). ZB works in other game types, but I think it needs to stay out of SWAT for the simple fact that, like you said, it should be about who's the better shot; ZB seems counter-intuitive to that end as it removes the need to pace your shots. I know from experience that ZB SWAT on Zealot and Asylum is absolutely horrible.

The sorry fact of the matter is that spamming with ZB on in matchmaking won't work as well as you would thing. And I have also played it in customs, ironically enough to prove this very point. I actually have been playing it in customs quite a bit recently. A well placed shot > A bunch of spammed shots.

 

In ZB slayer, people usually spam their first 4 shots at the body to take the shields and finish up with a well placed headshot. In ZB, however, even without the bloom there is a bit of a bullet spread with each successive shot. It's less than with bloom, but it's still there. However, those that pace their shots rather then spammed are rewarded with more accuracy then those that don't. The reason it is more beneficial to pace in ZB than in normal Swat is because you are less likely to end up with "A lucky spam shot" then you are in normal Swat.

 

If you have trouble believing this, go into a custom game with a split-screen controller and place your reticle slightly to the left or right of the split-screen head (the outer part of the reticle should be off of the SS head as well, but aligned to it) and start spamming the trigger. With each successive shot your reticle will expand, and within one or two shots be slightly over the SS head. You WILL end up killing the SS within 10 shots by doing this. Usually in the 4th or 5th shot, in fact. Congratulations, you just killed someone with a headshot without even aiming at their head.

 

That happening is GREATLY reduced with ZB due to the mathematical formula that they use with ZB. They include reticle size in their bullet spread formula. In ZB, they don't even need to change the formula to make the weapon more accurate because the reticle stays the same size.

 

The more your accuracy increase, the more you need to be a better shot simply for the fact that you can no longer rely on spamming to get the kill quicker than your opponent. The only time spamming will actually work is if your opponent is stupid enough to strafe into your reticle.

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MyNeighborSatan Drone

MyNeighborSatan

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I guess what I was getting at was more or less that it removes that scenario that occurs a lot where someone will miss the head with their first shot, and then the person being shot at hits a headshot before the initial attacker can because their aim was better on the initial shot. I feel like ZB would take away some of the "make the first shot count every time" factor that SWAT has and make it more of a game of who sees who first, ie turning around on people who miss their initial shot would become a lot less viable. The short version is that yes, while it does force the need to be more accurate with EVERY shot, it takes away some of the importance of not firing until you are sure you will get the headshot first since every successive shot will be just as accurate and you're likely to take them out before they can spot you. Think about it less in close-range terms and more about cross-mapping. It may make spamming less luck-based in a close-range DMR duel, but in a situation where you're a good distance apart, it makes spamming preferable since every shot where the reticle is anywhere on their body will connect regardless of pace, whereas without ZB cross-map spamming is considerably more difficult.

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The Director 343 Guilty Spark

The Director

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The short version is that yes, while it does force the need to be more accurate with EVERY shot, it takes away some of the importance of not firing until you are sure you will get the headshot first since every successive shot will be just as accurate and you're likely to take them out before they can spot you. Think about it less in close-range terms and more about cross-mapping. It may make spamming less luck-based in a close-range DMR duel, but in a situation where you're a good distance apart, it makes spamming preferable since every shot where the reticle is anywhere on their body will connect regardless of pace, whereas without ZB cross-map spamming is considerably more difficult.

Ah, but the "lucky shot" happenstance isn't exclusive to close-mid range shots. I'll admit that once in a while after I missed my initial shot cross mapping I spammed and got the kill based purely on luck.

 

The problem with bloom in Swat isn't just that it slows the action down (it actually doesn't since most people either hit their first shot or just spam like crazy whenever they see someone), the problem is that you don't have to actually have your reticle on someone's head to get a headshot.

 

What you are basically trying to say, from my understanding, is that removing bloom urges players to not pace their shots and aim, but instead to spam. However, any Swat player that even thinks they are good will see the flaw in this theory immediately. While you are pressing right trigger, it's slightly harder to aim your next shot. Not to mention that the DMR has a shot-pause. What that means is you can only fire a certain amount of shots in a certain amount of seconds. If I recall the ratio correctly, it is one shot per half second. A half second is a long time in a firefight.

 

Honestly, I don't see spamming as an issue. The only issue that I can actually think of is that jumping and crouching would become a lot more popular, rather than strafing. But then again, jumping and crouching is still a pretty common sight in Swat anyway.

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The Director 343 Guilty Spark

The Director

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I persoanlly think that swat should be based more like arena. And by this i mean in arena you have division standings so skill in 1 game doesnt mean anything. i think that you should be able to have a standing in swat based on overall skill, wins, etc so you can be ranked

Honestly, I'd prefer more casual gamers in Swat than a bunch of MLG tryhards because I don't usually play with an actual team. While I do enjoy playing against people that are good (for the challenge) I'd also like to play against people that aren't (for teh lulz). If they added a ranking system, then Swat would go the way of Arena and probably end up an unplayed playlist except by a few hundred people worldwide.
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The Director 343 Guilty Spark

The Director

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I was thinking possibly creating it as a secondary playlist possibly maybe under community. I have a few friends who said they would definately start playing swat and reach in general if there was a division standing like that

That's a good idea. I hope that they have something like that in Halo 4. Ranked and unranked playlists are boss. And I like the division rating system more than the +1 exp for a win thing that was in Halo 3. A 1-50 rating system would be better for the division ranking rather than colors though.
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